An Essay About the Potential Impact of Science Fair by Tayler Rocha, Monte Vista High School
Science Fair, in my opinion, is more than just competing to win awards. It's about the chance to do something you love and share it with people who are just as passionate about science as you are. It is also the opportunity to do something you can really be proud of; an experience you will always remember. Participating in science fair is something I have done throughout my high school career and is something that has definitely changed my life for the better.
Before science fair, my life choices were not the ones I should have been making. I always hung around the wrong crowd, made poor decisions, and didn't really have a plan for my future. My family really wanted me to succeed in life, and deep inside somewhere, I beliveve that I wanted to do the best I could also. But because of my choices and actions, I was making it very hard to do anything. I really was headed downhill from where I wanted to be.
After deciding I needed to turn my life around, I went to a teacher who I felt I could trust, my 7th grade science teacher from the year before. Wanting to keep me as busy and distracted as possible, she thought maybe just getting out would be very beneficial to me. After an amazing summer of working in the great outdoors with her, I learned how much I really loved the environment and how much I really loved science. I always like science, but until I was actually seeing patterns in nature and collecting data, I didn't know how deep my passion for science was. After a tour of the Medano Fire at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, I realized I wanted to participate in science fair and investigate the effects of the burn on the ecosystem there. I had participated in science fair once before in middle school and liked it, so I figured I would try it again on something bigger. After some discussions with the Park biologists and my mentor, I started my project of studying how the wildfire affected the water quality and macroinvertebrates of Medano Creek.
This project kep me very busy for the next two years, and I learned many, many things along the way. During the course of this project, I had to apply for a federal permit to conduct research, as well as a grant to fund part of the analysis that was done. I had to learn how to travel in the backcountry, collect water samples and aquatic macroinvertebrates (the insects in the water), and learn how to analyze the samples. Between collecting samples every few weeks at my remote sites, analyzing them, and learning everything I could about water quality and aquatic insects, it seemed like all I was ever doing was science fair, and I absolutely loved every second of it.
The first year I presented my project at science fair, I felt scared and nervous, especially looking around at how many other good projects there were. My first interviews were rocky, I couldn't get my thoughts together, and I really hated talking to people I did not know. But throughout the day, I learned to not worry about it so much and to just have fun telling my story, sharing my research findings, talking about the hard work I did and the fun I had, and it became easier and easier. This past year I was chosen to go to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The experience was simply amazing. From meeting diverse kids and adults from different parts of the world to talking to high-level scientists about my research, it was an experience I will never forget.
Through this entire journey, I learned how to communicate science to anyone who wants to know about it, and even just how to talk to people and advocate for myself, how to take pride in the work I do, and most importantly, I learned to have confidence in myself and started to really believe that I can do anything. At the beginning of my research on Medano Creek, I never thought I would go to International Science Fair, or thought when I went that I could win an award, or place in my category. But those things did happen, I think because I simply loved what I was doing - good science. For me, I think one of the greatest awards I received was realizing that I can have any future I want, even become an ecology professor at a university!
Without science fair, I do not even have a clue where I would be right now, but what I do know is every kid needs an opportunity like science fair to realize their potential and to see that they can do amazing things if they want to. Science fair is an unforgettable experience for students, and through it they learn about real science, life skills, and most importantly about themselves. Anything anyone can do to contribute to this opportunity makes then heroes to these students because it lets kids know that they have a chance to participate in something important, something real, something that can define who they are for the rest of their lives. It did for me.
Before science fair, my life choices were not the ones I should have been making. I always hung around the wrong crowd, made poor decisions, and didn't really have a plan for my future. My family really wanted me to succeed in life, and deep inside somewhere, I beliveve that I wanted to do the best I could also. But because of my choices and actions, I was making it very hard to do anything. I really was headed downhill from where I wanted to be.
After deciding I needed to turn my life around, I went to a teacher who I felt I could trust, my 7th grade science teacher from the year before. Wanting to keep me as busy and distracted as possible, she thought maybe just getting out would be very beneficial to me. After an amazing summer of working in the great outdoors with her, I learned how much I really loved the environment and how much I really loved science. I always like science, but until I was actually seeing patterns in nature and collecting data, I didn't know how deep my passion for science was. After a tour of the Medano Fire at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, I realized I wanted to participate in science fair and investigate the effects of the burn on the ecosystem there. I had participated in science fair once before in middle school and liked it, so I figured I would try it again on something bigger. After some discussions with the Park biologists and my mentor, I started my project of studying how the wildfire affected the water quality and macroinvertebrates of Medano Creek.
This project kep me very busy for the next two years, and I learned many, many things along the way. During the course of this project, I had to apply for a federal permit to conduct research, as well as a grant to fund part of the analysis that was done. I had to learn how to travel in the backcountry, collect water samples and aquatic macroinvertebrates (the insects in the water), and learn how to analyze the samples. Between collecting samples every few weeks at my remote sites, analyzing them, and learning everything I could about water quality and aquatic insects, it seemed like all I was ever doing was science fair, and I absolutely loved every second of it.
The first year I presented my project at science fair, I felt scared and nervous, especially looking around at how many other good projects there were. My first interviews were rocky, I couldn't get my thoughts together, and I really hated talking to people I did not know. But throughout the day, I learned to not worry about it so much and to just have fun telling my story, sharing my research findings, talking about the hard work I did and the fun I had, and it became easier and easier. This past year I was chosen to go to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The experience was simply amazing. From meeting diverse kids and adults from different parts of the world to talking to high-level scientists about my research, it was an experience I will never forget.
Through this entire journey, I learned how to communicate science to anyone who wants to know about it, and even just how to talk to people and advocate for myself, how to take pride in the work I do, and most importantly, I learned to have confidence in myself and started to really believe that I can do anything. At the beginning of my research on Medano Creek, I never thought I would go to International Science Fair, or thought when I went that I could win an award, or place in my category. But those things did happen, I think because I simply loved what I was doing - good science. For me, I think one of the greatest awards I received was realizing that I can have any future I want, even become an ecology professor at a university!
Without science fair, I do not even have a clue where I would be right now, but what I do know is every kid needs an opportunity like science fair to realize their potential and to see that they can do amazing things if they want to. Science fair is an unforgettable experience for students, and through it they learn about real science, life skills, and most importantly about themselves. Anything anyone can do to contribute to this opportunity makes then heroes to these students because it lets kids know that they have a chance to participate in something important, something real, something that can define who they are for the rest of their lives. It did for me.